AWARE Administrative and Data Analytics Core

AWARE ADMINISTRATION, DATA, AND ANALYSIS (ADA) CORE The Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) encompasses an international consortium of clinical and methodologic experts, an unprecedented resource of electronic health record (EHR)-based cohorts, and >25 years of validated longitudinal data on alcohol, behavioral, and health outcomes in people with HIV (PWH) and people without HIV (PWoH). With newly available data on area deprivation index which assesses socioeconomic disadvantage, we can ask critical questions about alcohol and inflammaging with HIV in people with HIV. However, no single existing cohort can comprehensively address these questions. We bring together four complementary cohorts (VACS, Observational Pharmaco-Epidemiology Research & Analysis [OPERA], Women’s Interagency HIV Study [WIHS] Biomarker, and Mt. Sinai HIV), to launch the Aging Well with HIV through Alcohol Research and Risk Reduction and Education (AWAR3E). To effectively execute the proposed research, pilot grants, dissemination, community engagement, research mentorship and training, and day-to-day operations among these cohorts, the AWAR3E Center requires a core of program coordinators and data and analysis experts including: 1) administrative staff who accomplish project coordination, budget administration, and personnel management; and 2) a multidisciplinary team with expertise in data, artificial intelligence, methodology, and observational research. The AWARE Center is a multidisciplinary, complementary multi-cohort partnership, leveraging the experience and research infrastructure of VACS and enhancing it with representation from the other cohorts. We know from past experience that administration and data analytic support is essential for effective collaboration. The ADA Core will organize and implement the processes and policies related to proposal review, research strategy development, and archiving to ensure a productive, fair, and collaborative center. The ADA Core will also address challenges of cleaning and analyzing large scale, longitudinal EHR data combined with other data sources (e.g., surveys, biomarkers, registries, environmental exposures). By facilitating excellent data access, analysis, and communication within our larger network, the ADA Core will enhance the impact of the AWARE Center. We will provide experience and resources to scale analyzable real-world data for the proposed research projects and inform future investigations. The ADA Core is uniquely positioned to support the researchers who are characterizing the intersectionality of unhealthy alcohol use, HIV, socioeconomic disadvantage, and health outcomes in the AWAR3E Center.